In Love We Trust
by dS-Tiff
Summary: It's the morning after 'Crime Every Mountain' and an emotional Paige has something she needs to talk to Walter about. Toby and Happy do their best to stop it all going very wrong. A little angsty Waige for your enjoyment.


_**This story is set the morning after episode 4.10 'Crime Every Mountain'. I hope you enjoy it, all comments welcome. Thank you kindly.**_

In Love We Trust

"Good morning, Paige." Walter half-skipped across the garage to greet his girlfriend. "You look beautiful this morning, as always," he added and planted a lingering kiss on her lips.

"Walter," Paige replied, barely acknowledging his show of affection.

Despite everything Paige had taught him over the last three and a half years, Walter was still terrible at picking up on emotional cues, but he knew when he was being given the cold shoulder. "Have I done something wrong?" he asked, gingerly. "You did not appear to be unhappy with me last night after we were intimate?"

"Woah, too much information, Walt," said Happy, looking up from her soldering. She was still trying to repair the comms. After the day they'd had yesterday she was determined the team would never go anywhere without them again.

Toby walked over to join them and quickly assessed the situation. "I don't think this has anything to do with sex," he noted.

Paige deliberately turned away from him, trying to stop the behaviourist from reading her. "Walter, I need to talk to you," she said. Then she thought for a moment and turned back to face Toby and Happy. "Actually, I need to talk to all you nerds. Where's Sylvester?"

"Out with Cabe," replied Happy, putting the soldering iron down on the workbench.

"Oh, well three nerds will do for now. Sit down," snapped Paige. "This won't take long."

The group assembled around the coffee table, with Toby and Happy on the couch and Walter taking a chair. Toby slipped his arm around his wife's shoulders. Usually Paige called them 'nerds' as a term of affection, but it was obvious to Toby that this time it was anything but.

Yesterday had been scary for all of them, with Paige and Walter trapped by a landslide and Happy facing down an armed, desperate, bad guy while Toby went way out of his comfort zone to help everyone , but the team had pulled through for each other and everything had turned out OK in the end. Now Paige was in a foul mood and Toby had no idea why.

Paige took a seat in the chair farthest from Walter. She took a deep breath before speaking. It was just one word. "CLAM," she said.

Walter glanced at Toby with a puzzled look on his face. Happy swallowed hard. "Not good," she muttered.

Toby sighed. "Paige, if you'd just let us explain," he began, but Paige interrupted him.

"No," she said. "There is no explanation. At least, no valid one." She turned and spoke directly to Walter now. "You lied to me," she said.

"About… um, about what, exactly?" answered Walter.

"I thought we were way beyond this genius/non-genius divide by now," continued Paige. "But apparently not. I get why you didn't tell Cabe – you didn't want to get him into any more trouble and you didn't want to get his hopes up, but why didn't you tell me?"

"About CLAM?" Walter was still confused.

"Yes!" exclaimed Paige. "You told me you were running some light sensitive experiments in there and that's why the door had to stay shut!"

"You actually said that to her?" Toby was a little stunned at the revelation. "That was a blatant lie, Walt. That's not what we agreed."

"I… I panicked," said Walter by way of explanation. "Paige, we couldn't risk you finding out. It was really none of your business anyway."

Happy dropped her face into her hands and Toby shook his head in despair. They both realised this was not going to end well.

"None of my business?" Paige repeated, incredulously. "Don't you think I want to help Cabe too? Just because I'm not a genius doesn't mean I don't have anything to contribute! Haven't you learnt that yet?" Her bottom lip started to quiver as she spoke.

"Paige, you misunderstand," began Walter, but he wasn't allowed to finish.

"And if I was a genius I'd get it? Is that it?" Paige was yelling now. "You just didn't trust me not to tell Cabe!"

"Why don't we all just take a breath and…" began Toby, trying desperately to calm the tension, but Walter cut him off.

"I knew you wouldn't approve of our methods," Walter continued. If he was at all perturbed by Paige's outburst he didn't show it. "So I asked the others not to tell you what we were doing. I think your reaction today proves my point."

"Oh, does it? And what point is that, Walter? That I'm incapable of seeing the bigger picture?" Paige shook her head in despair. "Do you honestly think I would have shut your secret little operation down if I thought you genuinely had a chance of finding Collins? Walter, I don't want Cabe to go to prison any more than you do!"

"Paige, you're being overly emotional," responded Walter, calmly. "I'll admit that I regret lying to you, but I stand by my decision to keep you in the dark over CLAM. We can discuss this later when you've calmed down."

"Oh boy," mumbled Happy.

Toby sighed. He couldn't allow this to go on any more. He leaned over, putting his mouth inches from his wife's ear and spoke in a low voice. "OK, I'll take Paige, you deal with One Ninety Seven," he said. "See you on the other side," he added.

Happy nodded and took a deep breath to steel herself before getting to her feet. "O'Brien, I suggest you shut up," she said. Walter frowned at her. "Get upstairs." She ordered.

"No, Happy, I haven't finished with Walter yet," Paige objected.

Walter got to his feet before responding. "I'm too busy to continue this conversation anyway," he said, but then he caught Happy's glare and realised he had little choice. Without another word to anyone he dutifully followed Happy up to the loft.

Paige stood up and made a move to follow them, but Toby grabbed her by the forearm to stop her. "Let them go," he urged. "I don't think either of you are in the right frame of mind to figure this out right now."

"Don't tell me," said Paige with a sneer. "Wait until later when I've calmed down. You sound just like Walter."

"That's not what I meant," replied Toby. "Come on, sit down again. Let's just run through a few things, see if we can't straighten out your thoughts and then you and Walt can have a more productive conversation."

Paige sighed and slumped down on the couch. She felt her bottom lip trembling again and turned away from Toby, hoping he hadn't noticed, but of course he had.

"Hey," he said, putting a supportive hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry we didn't tell you, but we had good reason. We're wired into all kinds of government systems, Walter didn't want to drag you into anything that could get you into trouble."

"I don't need protecting, I can make my own decisions," retorted Paige. "I didn't even think about this yesterday. I guess with everything else going on it didn't even register." She drew a deep breath and let it out slowly.

Toby gave her a moment to gather her thoughts. "OK," he said eventually. "Why don't we start with what changed overnight. When the missus and I left yesterday things were good between you and Walt. You did some impressive work with him, you know. Getting him to open up to you about his feelings about Cabe like that, I mean. He really needed it and I'm telling you he's deeply grateful to you for getting him to that point. All I saw when I left were two people who are very much in love and who were about to partake in a little hanky panky." Toby smirked as he finished speaking.

"Toby! Do you have to say it like that?" asked Paige.

"The horizontal tango?" offered Toby. "Shaking the sheets? A roll in the hay?"

"Enough!" Paige exclaimed, but at least she was half-smiling now which of course had been Toby's intention. "If you must know, yes, we had a very pleasant evening before I had to go and collect Ralph from Daniel's house," she explained. "Walter was still quite emotional and you know how much he struggles with processing those emotions. We just held each other for a long time after you guys all left, that's all. It was…" she paused, wondering why she was telling Toby all of this, but then realising that she needed to talk it all through. "It was… special. I felt as though we'd broken through another barrier. I've never felt closer to him. We talked and talked and then, eventually we… well, we, you know."

Toby smiled. "Sounds good," he noted. Then his face became more serious. "But then you had to go home. To an empty bed."

Paige looked at him and nodded sadly. She wasn't at all surprised that he'd hit the proverbial nail on the head. "I wish I could have stayed last night. I know we've only been dating for a few months, but it's so hard to leave him."

"Have you guys talked about moving in together?" asked Toby. "You've only been dating a few months, but you've known each other for over three years."

Paige shook her head. "I don't want to rush Walter," she said. "I don't think he could process that kind of change, not yet."

"You're probably right," agreed Toby. "So for now you have to say your goodbyes. That can't be easy for you."

"No, it's not," she admitted. "I guess last night I just lay there in my own bed, alone, and my mind started going over everything and that's when it hit me. He doesn't trust me."

"That's not true," insisted Toby. "I told you why he decided to keep CLAM a secret. It's nothing to do with trust."

"It is, though," Paige replied. "We shouldn't have any secrets from each other. Do you keep things from Happy?"

"Wouldn't dare," answered Toby, drawing a sharp breath. "Nor, would I want to," he clarified. "But it's easier for us, we're further along in our relationship and we're more alike than you and Walt. Not that being different is a bad thing."

"Chocolate and peanut butter," noted Paige, echoing advice Toby had given her recently.

"Exactly," nodded Toby. "How long did you lay in bed working yourself up into a state over this? I'd say you've only had about three hours sleep."

Paige shrugged. "Something like that," she agreed. "The more I thought about it the more angry I got. Then I guess I cried myself to sleep in the early hours."

"Right, so you left here, your body surging with post-coital endorphins and then you spent the rest of the night alone," Toby began. "There's only one way your emotions are going to go in that situation and that's down," he added.

Paige nodded. She knew he was right. "I guess if I'd have had the chance to talk to Walter straight away it wouldn't have come to this," she observed and Toby nodded.

"Your concerns are valid and I'm sorry Walter made up that story about the room, I didn't know about that," said Toby with an apologetic look on his face. "But I know Walter made his decision with the best of intentions. You guys just need to sit down and reach an understanding."

"Which is not going to happen with me yelling at him," noted Paige, sadly. She glanced towards the stairs and sighed. "I wonder how Happy is getting on?" she asked.

Toby thought for a moment. "Those two have a connection," he said. "I think they communicate in a series of grunts, but it seems to work for them."

Paige laughed. "I think you could be right."

Upstairs Walter was sitting on his desk chair and watching as Happy paced around. "I thought you had something to say?" he offered eventually.

"I do," replied Happy. "But I'm taking my time, because I don't want to have to yell at you. Or hit you."

Walter's eyes widened in surprise. "I'm surprised you're taking her side," he said.

"This isn't about taking sides!" exclaimed Happy. "This is about you being a jerk. If you must know, I don't like the way Paige came storming in here this morning, but I understand why she did. You should have at least listened to what she had to say. You owe her that much."

"I did listen and I thought I'd made my feelings quite clear," replied Walter. "I don't understand why she's so mad with me? She should be grateful that I didn't put her in an awkward position. We all agreed not to tell Paige, or Cabe, about CLAM for their own good."

"I know, but we didn't agree to make up a stupid story about it!" Happy exclaimed. "We all want to find Collins, not just you. Trust is the most important thing in a relationship, Walt."

"But I do trust Paige," insisted Walter.

Happy shook her head. "I know that and she probably does too, deep down, but you've sure got a funny way of showing it," she said. "Take it from me, I nearly blew it with Toby because I didn't tell him about our sham marriage. I won't make that mistake again."

"I've already admitted that I made a mistake in fabricating a lie, but I was worried that Paige would insist we shut everything down and I couldn't risk that," Walter replied. "Not when we were so close to finding Collins."

"Yeah, except we weren't because the bastard had us on a wild goose chase," noted Happy, folding her arms and sneering in disgust. "Listen, O'Brien, you and Paige, you're good together. I mean, I don't get how or why, but the two of you work. Like me and the Doc. So, if you want to save what you have with her you need to get your ass downstairs and you need to apologise. And don't make this about you, do you understand?"

"I… I think so," stammered Walter.

"And then when you've apologised you need to promise her that you'll never do anything as dumb as this again," added Happy.

"Understood," nodded Walter.

Paige and Toby looked up as Happy descended the stairs with Walter close behind her. "So, my beautiful better half," began Toby. "Is now a good time to take you out for breakfast?"

Happy glanced over her shoulder at Walter before turning back to Toby. "Yes," she said. "Let's go."

Toby flashed Paige a reassuring smile before he and Happy left the garage, both hoping they'd find Walter and Paige still in one piece when they returned.

"Walter, I…" began Paige, but Walter held his hand up to stop her.

"No," he said. "I should go first. I'm sorry I didn't tell you about CLAM. I'm even sorrier that I deliberately invented a lie about it, but I thought I was doing the right thing. I now believe I was incorrect in that assumption."

Paige's mouth twitched into a smile. "And I'm sorry I yelled at you," she said. "Yesterday was a difficult day for all of us. Emotions were running high and, well, I guess I took some of that home with me. I could have dealt with my feelings in a more constructive way. It didn't set a very good example, I'm supposed to be the expert in that department."

Walter reached out and took her hand in his. "Paige, I love you," he said. "I will endeavour to be a better boyfriend. I'm sorry I appear to be inadequate in so many areas."

Paige wrapped her other hand around his and squeezed. "I love you too," she said, her voice cracking with emotion. "You're not inadequate at all," she added. "Please don't feel that way. We all make mistakes, that's what life is all about. We've both learnt from this."

Walter nodded. "I may have underestimated your feelings about Cabe," he said. "I am finding it so hard to understand how I feel about it myself, I don't think I have taken your feelings into consideration."

"It's OK," Paige tried to reassure him. "We're all scared about what might happen to Cabe, but you have more to lose than any of us."

"Perhaps," Walter admitted. "I just wish Collins hadn't gotten the better of me, again. I hate that I can't keep you all safe. We should have found him by now, we have to stop Cabe going to prison."

"Believe me, I wish we'd found him too," said Paige. "It terrifies me that he's still out there, that he violated our home yesterday. What if Ralph had been here?"

Walter nodded slowly. "Paige you know I would never do anything to put Ralph in danger," he said. He pulled Paige towards him and wrapped his arms around her. "If I can't track down Collins then I've failed Cabe, I've failed you and Ralph and everyone."

"You haven't failed, Walter, how many times do I have to tell you that?" Paige replied, nuzzling her face into his neck. "And you don't have to carry this burden yourself."

They stood there for a while, just holding each other. Walter never wanted her to feel as though he didn't trust her again. He'd never trusted anyone enough to allow them to see his raw emotions before and yet he felt safe doing exactly that with her. He trusted her more than he'd ever trusted anyone in his life. He just wished he could find the words to explain it to her.

Paige closed her eyes and hoped he understood just how much he meant to her. She felt a wave of guilt over the way she'd behaved earlier. The deluge of emotion had simply overwhelmed her and she wished she hadn't reacted the way she had. "I never want to feel like I did this morning again," she said, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"I won't let that happen, I promise," replied Walter. He gently pushed her away just enough so he could capture her lips in a kiss. "I love you," he said. They kissed again, with more passion this time.

"How long do you think Happy and Toby will be gone?" asked Paige, when she eventually broke away. "I need you, Walter," she breathed.

"I need you too," replied Walter, immediately understanding her need. He didn't care how long Happy and Toby were out, he was going to take Paige to bed and demonstrate his love for her. Happy had been right, he and Paige worked, somehow, and as poor as he was sometimes at showing his feelings, the one place he had quickly learnt he could truly allow his emotions to surge and take over was in bed. He cupped her face in his hands before leaning in to kiss her again. "I've never needed you more."

THE END.


End file.
